Benami 5 crore deposited in Bineesh’s accounts in 7 years: Enforcement Directorate

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has filed year-wise details of unexplained cash deposits of an average Rs 74 lakh a year in three bank accounts of CPM’s Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri, an accused in an illicit drug trafficking case being investigated by the agency.

The Enforcement Directorate shared these details with a special anti-money laundering court in Bengaluru on Saturday while seeking extension of Bineesh’s remand.

The agency has found cash deposits of more than Rs 5 crore in Bineesh’s three accounts in the last seven years as against his total declared income of Rs 1.2 crore.

The cash deposits were in the range of Rs 55 lakh to more than Rs 1 crore a year in the last seven years since 2012-13 while Bineesh’s total income, declared through income tax returns, was around Rs 6-8 lakh a year, the highest being Rs 49 lakh in 2015-16.

The Enforcement Directorate has sought information from other banks on accounts maintained by Kodiyeri junior and some of his close associates through whom he allegedly operated several shell companies and underground business enterprises. So far, the agency has received details of only three bank accounts maintained by Bineesh in his name.

In its remand application, the Enforcement Directorate told the court, “On verification of bank accounts of Bineesh Kodiyeri, huge amounts of cash were seen deposited in his accounts especially IDBI Bank and HDFC. Kodiyeri has not given any satisfactory reply about the source of such huge cash deposits.”

The agency told the court that its investigation found that Bineesh was engaged in trafficking of illicit narcotics and synthetic drugs and was the ringleader having a network of drug peddlers.

The Left Front government in Kerala is under pressure from the opposition which are seeking the resignation of the top leadership of CPM in the state over allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.